From scalpels to surgical tables, surgeons rely on a multitude of specially designed tools and apparatuses to perform surgical procedures. In any number of procedures, a surgeon may need to position a patient in various positions (e.g., roll, Trendelenburg, reverse Trendelenburg, raise and lower, flex and extend) throughout the surgery in order to perform various steps of the procedure. Positioning the patient in the various positions may require the use of a specialized table or support structure that is uniquely designed to facilitate the required movements for the procedure. With certain support structures, articulating different portions of the support structure poses problems. In particular, support structures with certain types of articulating hinges fixed between head and foot end sections of a suspended patient support structure tend to require the use of a “trunk translator” or other device that allows the patient's torso to slide on the head end section of the patient support structure when the structure pivots about the hinges. In doing so, significant translation of the patient's head and torso are required with respect to anesthesia. In addition to adding an assembly to the support structure, such devices are often not radiolucent, which also poses problems for generating medical images. And, since certain procedures (e.g., spinal surgery) may require the patient to undergo medical imaging during the procedure, it is desirable for the patient support structure to be made from radiolucent materials (e.g., carbon fiber, PEEK, polymer, among other materials). In addition to the various positioning and materials requirements on surgical support structures, laws and regulations may provide additional requirements for safely positioning patients during a surgical procedure that must be considered.
With these thoughts in mind, among others, aspects of the surgical table with a pivoting and translating hinge disclosed herein were conceived.